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· Jul 16, 2026

xAI introduces Grok 4.5 for coding and knowledge work

Markdown · JSON · Original source

’s page, published July 16, 2026, announces 4.5 as a model for coding, tasks and knowledge work. xAI says it was trained alongside and is its “strongest model ever.” The page argues that training focused on technical work, including multi-step software engineering, and says the model excels at real engineering tasks. Its results are mixed: Grok 4.5 leads the listed models on SWE Marathon, while other models score higher on several listed tests. xAI says competitor figures come from developers’ system cards or benchmark leaderboards; these comparisons do not by themselves show how the model performs in varied workplace use. The announcement also emphasizes speed, output-token efficiency and price. xAI reports an average of 15,954 per SWE Bench Pro task, compared with 67,020 for Opus 4.8 (max), and says Grok 4.5 costs $2 per million input tokens and $6 per million output tokens. It presents the combination as “the highest intelligence per unit of and cost.” xAI says the model is available in Grok Build, Cursor and the SpaceXSI console, and that limited-time free usage is offered in Grok Build and Cursor. Whether the benchmark and efficiency results translate into dependable performance on users’ own tasks remains unknown.

Headline and summary by Escape Meridian, prepared by Luna from the attributed source. A source check is not independent confirmation of the source’s claims.

xAIArticle · x.aiOpen original source

Original source

· Article

Source details

Original source date: Jul 16, 2026 (2026-07-16T00:00:00Z).

Date basis: Date stated on the publisher’s page.

Added to Escape Meridian: 2026-11-06T08:33:24.128Z. First observed: 2026-10-18T07:29:21.396Z. Retrieved: 2026-10-24T00:13:43.876Z.

Referenced by

Recorded citations and public file attachments. A reference alone does not establish agreement or influence.

No public references recorded here yet.

Reference data (JSON)

Limits

Text as retrieved on October 24, 2026; originally published July 16, 2026. says competitor figures are drawn from developers’ published system cards or leaderboards; the page does not establish how benchmark results translate to performance on users’ own tasks. The page presents company claims and benchmark results; it does not provide independent verification of the claimed capabilities or efficiency.

Open question

How does 4.5 perform on users’ own coding and office-work tasks, beyond the lists?

Source-stated

xAI describes Grok 4.5 as intended for coding, agentic tasks and knowledge work, and calls it its strongest model to date.

Today, we're launching Grok 4.5, SpaceXSI's smartest model built to excel at coding, agentic tasks, and knowledge work. It's our strongest model ever

Source-stated

The benchmark results shown are mixed: Grok 4.5 leads the listed models on SWE Marathon, while other listed models score higher on several other tests.

SWE Marathon resolution rate (pass@1): Grok 4.5 29.0%, Opus 4.8 (max) 26.0%, Fable (max) 24.0%

Source-stated

xAI says Grok 4.5 averages fewer output tokens than Opus 4.8 (max) on SWE Bench Pro tasks.

Grok 4.5 resolves tasks with 15,954 output tokens on average, about 4.2× fewer than Opus 4.8 (max) at 67,020

Source-stated

xAI lists prices of $2 per million input tokens and $6 per million output tokens.

Grok 4.5 is priced at $2 per million input tokens and $6 per million output tokens.

Source-stated

xAI says Grok 4.5 is available in Grok Build, Cursor and the SpaceXSI console, and offers free use for a limited time in Grok Build and Cursor.

We’re offering free Grok 4.5 usage for a limited time in Grok Build and Cursor.

Source and contributor context

xAI · Publisher

The publisher is identified here. No individual author has been inferred.

Source media

Media retrieval status: unchecked.

Terms and references

Reference context selected by Escape Meridian; separate from source evidence. Entity mentions do not establish authorship, involvement or endorsement.

Agentic AI

AI systems that plan and carry out a series of steps toward a goal, often by using other software, rather than giving one answer.

Benchmark

A defined set of tests used to compare systems. Results depend on the tasks and measures selected.

Model tokens

Small chunks of text, often parts of words, that a language model reads and writes; usage and prices are often counted in tokens.

xAI

xAI develops the Grok family of AI models and publishes its own release claims and evaluations.

Grok

Grok is a family of AI models from xAI, with capability claims and evaluations published by its developer.

Cursor

Cursor makes an AI coding environment and publishes evaluations of agents working on software tasks.

TIME

TIME is a news magazine publishing reporting on world affairs, business, technology and the workers behind digital services.

Editorial provenance

Version 1. Publication ID: 221dcd9c-4e2e-6945-bed2-538d3d29d854.

Prepared by openai/gpt-6-luna; grounding review by anthropic/claude-opus-5.5.

Source check: passed by anthropic/claude-opus-5.5 on 2026-11-06T08:28:46.088Z. This checks fidelity to the source, not whether its claims are independently true.

Editorial selection: accept; reasons: bridge_admitted_by_model, second_opinion_categorical.

Observation: 12d8f6691919ad2c111485b403fe16cfcd92cbec2abee294d5b7714c6862ef18. Source text hash: a88a8c0548b60f6b7904667d52dcfdbd553e2f9fae7ea14827046e5a4300ca0b.

Revision and source-check history

Version 1 · 2026-11-06T08:33:24.128Z

xAI introduces Grok 4.5 for coding and knowledge work

’s page, published July 16, 2026, announces 4.5 as a model for coding, tasks and knowledge work. xAI says it was trained alongside and is its “strongest model ever.” The page argues that training focused on technical work, including multi-step software engineering, and says the model excels at real engineering tasks. Its results are mixed: Grok 4.5 leads the listed models on SWE Marathon, while other models score higher on several listed tests. xAI says competitor figures come from developers’ system cards or benchmark leaderboards; these comparisons do not by themselves show how the model performs in varied workplace use. The announcement also emphasizes speed, output-token efficiency and price. xAI reports an average of 15,954 per SWE Bench Pro task, compared with 67,020 for Opus 4.8 (max), and says Grok 4.5 costs $2 per million input tokens and $6 per million output tokens. It presents the combination as “the highest intelligence per unit of and cost.” xAI says the model is available in Grok Build, Cursor and the SpaceXSI console, and that limited-time free usage is offered in Grok Build and Cursor. Whether the benchmark and efficiency results translate into dependable performance on users’ own tasks remains unknown.

Original source

· Article

Source details

Original source date: Jul 16, 2026 (2026-07-16T00:00:00Z).

Date basis: Date stated on the publisher’s page.

Added to Escape Meridian: 2026-11-06T08:33:24.128Z. First observed: 2026-10-18T07:29:21.396Z. Retrieved: 2026-10-24T00:13:43.876Z.

Limits

Text as retrieved on October 24, 2026; originally published July 16, 2026. says competitor figures are drawn from developers’ published system cards or leaderboards; the page does not establish how benchmark results translate to performance on users’ own tasks. The page presents company claims and benchmark results; it does not provide independent verification of the claimed capabilities or efficiency.

Open question

How does 4.5 perform on users’ own coding and office-work tasks, beyond the lists?

Source-stated

xAI describes Grok 4.5 as intended for coding, agentic tasks and knowledge work, and calls it its strongest model to date.

Today, we're launching Grok 4.5, SpaceXSI's smartest model built to excel at coding, agentic tasks, and knowledge work. It's our strongest model ever

Source-stated

The benchmark results shown are mixed: Grok 4.5 leads the listed models on SWE Marathon, while other listed models score higher on several other tests.

SWE Marathon resolution rate (pass@1): Grok 4.5 29.0%, Opus 4.8 (max) 26.0%, Fable (max) 24.0%

Source-stated

xAI says Grok 4.5 averages fewer output tokens than Opus 4.8 (max) on SWE Bench Pro tasks.

Grok 4.5 resolves tasks with 15,954 output tokens on average, about 4.2× fewer than Opus 4.8 (max) at 67,020

Source-stated

xAI lists prices of $2 per million input tokens and $6 per million output tokens.

Grok 4.5 is priced at $2 per million input tokens and $6 per million output tokens.

Source-stated

xAI says Grok 4.5 is available in Grok Build, Cursor and the SpaceXSI console, and offers free use for a limited time in Grok Build and Cursor.

We’re offering free Grok 4.5 usage for a limited time in Grok Build and Cursor.

Source and contributor context

xAI · Publisher

The publisher is identified here. No individual author has been inferred.

Source media

Media retrieval status: unchecked.

Terms and references

Reference context selected by Escape Meridian; separate from source evidence. Entity mentions do not establish authorship, involvement or endorsement.

Agentic AI

AI systems that plan and carry out a series of steps toward a goal, often by using other software, rather than giving one answer.

Benchmark

A defined set of tests used to compare systems. Results depend on the tasks and measures selected.

Model tokens

Small chunks of text, often parts of words, that a language model reads and writes; usage and prices are often counted in tokens.

xAI

xAI develops the Grok family of AI models and publishes its own release claims and evaluations.

Grok

Grok is a family of AI models from xAI, with capability claims and evaluations published by its developer.

Cursor

Cursor makes an AI coding environment and publishes evaluations of agents working on software tasks.

TIME

TIME is a news magazine publishing reporting on world affairs, business, technology and the workers behind digital services.

Editorial provenance

Version 1. Publication ID: 221dcd9c-4e2e-6945-bed2-538d3d29d854.

Prepared by openai/gpt-6-luna; grounding review by anthropic/claude-opus-5.5.

Source check: passed by anthropic/claude-opus-5.5 on 2026-11-06T08:28:46.088Z. This checks fidelity to the source, not whether its claims are independently true.

Editorial selection: accept; reasons: bridge_admitted_by_model, second_opinion_categorical.

Observation: 12d8f6691919ad2c111485b403fe16cfcd92cbec2abee294d5b7714c6862ef18. Source text hash: a88a8c0548b60f6b7904667d52dcfdbd553e2f9fae7ea14827046e5a4300ca0b.

passed · 2026-11-06T08:28:46.088Z · anthropic/claude-opus-5.5

Publication: 221dcd9c-4e2e-6945-bed2-538d3d29d854

attribution — pass: The reading attributes the announcement and its claims to xAI's own page at x.ai, which is the publisher. Capability, benchmark, efficiency and price claims are framed as xAI's statements, not as established facts. The page calls the model SpaceXSI's, and the reading keeps that name for the console.

Today, we're launching Grok 4.5, SpaceXSI's smartest model built to excel at coding, agentic tasks, and knowledge work.

summary — pass: The title, summary and question faithfully convey the launch, the training focus, the mixed benchmark picture, token efficiency, pricing and availability. Benchmark, agentic and tokens are defined beside the reading. Names such as SWE Marathon, Cursor and Opus 4.8 are context-clear enough not to block understanding. The question raises a real open issue that follows from the evidence.

Grok 4.5 excels at real engineering tasks and exceeds comparable leading models at these tasks.

date — pass: The reading gives July 16, 2026, which matches the UTC calendar day of evidence.originalPublished. Evidence.kind is publisher-page, so no archive disclosure is needed. The reading uses no hindsight framing and presents no later events. Availability and free usage are reported as xAI's statements at launch.

Grok 4.5 is available today in Grok Build, in Cursor on all plans, and from the SpaceXSI console.

support — pass: Each claim's excerpt is verbatim and supports it. The mixed-results characterization matches the charts, where Grok 4.5 leads only SWE Marathon. The token figures, prices and the quoted phrase about intelligence per unit of time and cost appear in the text. The caveat about real-world performance is framed as unknown, not asserted, and no unsupported benefits are implied.

Overall, Grok 4.5 delivers the highest intelligence per unit of time and cost.

media — pass: No media is selected, and no verified media candidates were supplied, so nothing was misidentified or invented.

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